There are actual photos of Filipino soldiers praying, said a television producer, hence there is no need to use the photos of Honduran soldiers.
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TV5 producer Katrina Elaine Alba posted two different photos of Philippine Scout Rangers with heads bowed and eyes closed while praying in Marawi City and a ranger’s backpack with a rosary attached to it.
“These are photos of actual soldiers in the Philippines praying in Marawi—taken by legitimate photographers from Reuters. Note the rosary attached to the backpack,” Alba said in her Facebook post on May 30.
“No need to lift photos from Honduras here,” she added.
She was likely referring to the issue about Communications Asec. Mocha Uson sharing the photo of the Honduran army while urging people to pray for the Philippine Army. Uson later defended her use of the inaccurate photo by saying that it was for the purpose of symbolism, a word which trended on social media on May 31, with netizens posting their own interpretation of Uson’s symbolism excuse.
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The photos Ablan posted on Facebook were actually used by news sites and were credited to Reuters.
In the Reuters UK May 26 report, “Manila deploys commandoes, helicopters to retake city from Islamists,” it showed a photo of the soldiers praying. The photo was credited to Reuters’ Romeo Ranoco.
The same report and the same photo slideshow also showed the ranger’s vest with the rosary hanging from it. The photo was also credited to Ranoco.
As of writing, Ablan’s post has been shared over 3,000 times.
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